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LAUSD Forms A New Magnet School To Train Hollywood Hopefuls
Two interns to shoot a scene during a session of the Academy Gold Production Track Program at Warner Bros Ranch in Burbank, California, on August 1, 2019.
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Valerie Macon
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AFP via Getty Images
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The Los Angeles Unified School District will open a new magnet school dedicated to training students from underserved communities for careers in the entertainment industry.
The Roybal School of Film and Television Production will open in fall 2022 on the campus of the Edward R. Roybal Learning Center in downtown L.A.
It already has the support of several high-profile actors including George Clooney, Mindy Kaling, Kerry Washington, Eva Longoria and Don Cheadle. Entertainment industry business people and creatives, such as Creative Artists Agency chairman Bryan Lourd and Working Title Films founders Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner have also pledged their support.
LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner says the school will offer a multi-disciplinary education that students can apply to an entertainment career.
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"Physics is involved in how a cinematographer chooses a lens. Math is a part of a foundation for a musical score in a film. Screenwriters need a foundation in literacy and makeup artists needs to know the chemistry of the different materials they might use. And all of this will be tied into the curriculum at the school,” Beutner said on Monday, in his weekly address.
Principal Blanca Cruz will oversee the inaugural program, which will be for 9th and 10th grade students. The magnet school will then add programs for 11th and 12th grade students.
The school will also offer access to internships. The goal is to open the door to high-paying jobs in film and television while increasing Hollywood's diversity.
If this pilot program goes well, it could be expanded to additional schools in the LAUSD.
Corrected June 21, 2021 at 3:51 PM PDT
This story was updated to note the school's location in downtown L.A. LAist regrets the error.
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